Before jets and a proliferation of festivals made European appearances by American jazz musicians commonplace, it was not unusual for a trans-Atlantic tour to be...

Before jets and a proliferation of festivals made European appearances by American jazz musicians commonplace, it was not unusual for a trans-Atlantic tour to be preceded by six months of publicity. But such was not the case in November 1950, when Charlie Parker's arrival in Sweden literally took some fans by surprise. The trip was made on such short notice that booking negotiations virtually continued until his day of departure from the States. Rumors of impending visits from Parker had circulated from time to time, but so exciting was the prospect that one dared not believe them. Given the scarecity of live jazz in Europe at that time, and the fact that Charlie Parker, the Messiah of modern jazz, was already achieving legendary status, it was preordained that this visit would be a particularly memorable one. We hope this live album proves to be as exciting to listeners now as it was to the approximately one thousand people who crowded into the dance hall of Folkets Park in Halsingborg and the seventy-five who were lucky enough to attend the session that followed all those years ago.